In just finishing viewing "Dances with Wolves" I have drawn a few conclusions about the social, cultural, and economic differences between the Native-Americans and the white soldiers and settelers living on the frotier.
             The primary social differences between the whites and the natives were the way in which the communicate. The Souix and the English languages are totally different. As depicted in the movie, it was hard for the early "peacemakers" to communicate with the Indians becuase of the language barrier. Luckily the Souix tribe included an English translator, which made things a lot easier. Another social difference that came about in this movie was the fact that Indians were a lot more respectful of the earth. In fact the Souix Indian's major philoisphies are based on the foundation of respecting mother nature. I feel that these social diferences could cause a problem because the average white man did not care if they hurt the land. This would give the Indians a reason to fight the white men, they had complete disrespect for their religion.
             As i critqued this movie, I noticed many cultural differences. The Indian's government structure was totally different from that of the whites. The whites didn't live in small tribes like the Native-Americans. If they did reside in small groups, it was usually in the form of a military "platoon" of some sort. The Indians had town meetings where all the men of the tribe would meet and talk about important issues. Each man would have his share in stating his opinion on how the matter should be dealt with. After all those who wished to talk had, the cheif of the tribe would make the final decision. There was no disputing this decision because the cheif was the oldest and therefor the wisest of the whole tribe. After this the meeting would end. The whites on the other hand had a chain of command that started at your commanding officer and went all the way up to Washington. Y...